Bruins defenseman Wade Redden hopes for Game 6 return

Veteran defenseman Wade Redden missed Game 5 of the Bruins’ playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs because of an unspecified injury. Redden was back on the ice Saturday, and hopes to play Sunday when the B’s try to close out the series.

Wade Redden won’t say what’s wrong with him – just that it’s not as wrong as it was on Thursday and Friday.

“It felt pretty good,” said the Bruins’ defenseman, who participated in Saturday’s optional practice after missing Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals because of an unspecified injury. “I’ve been feeling better, so that’s a positive.”

Redden, who won’t even divulge if his is an upper- or lower-body injury (“it’s one of those”), said it was “a pretty obvious thing” that he couldn’t play on Friday night, but that his ailment “has turned the corner.”

That’s good news for the B’s, although they probably won’t be sure if Redden will be in the lineup until shortly before tonight’s Game 6 at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. The 35-year-old defenseman, obtained for post-season depth from St. Louis on April 3, has instead become a solid third-pairing blue-liner who has been at the forefront of some of the Bruins’ best performances in this series. Redden had a goal and an assist in a series-opening, 4-2 win, and was plus-3 with partner Adam McQuaid as the B’s won Game 3, 5-2.

“Wade has been a good player for us so far in the playoffs,” coach Claude Julien said. “Poise, good posture, good vision, stuff like that.

“Did we miss that part of his game (on Friday)? Yeah, we did.”

The Bruins have won the three games in which the Redden-McQuaid pairing played behind the top two tandems of Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk. In Game 2, a 4-2 loss, McQuaid moved up to play with Chara because Ference had been suspended by the NHL, while Redden nursed rookie Dougie Hamilton through his first NHL playoff game. Matt Bartkowski replaced Redden on Friday, but played only six minutes, 40 seconds in his post-season debut and was on the ice for the Leafs’ decisive goal in the second period.

Although Julien said “the pairings had really nothing to do with the outcome of (Friday’s) game,” he and the Bruins would welcome Redden’s 105 games of post-season experience as they try to close out the series.

Redden would love to return.

“Even after a game like (Friday) night, when we have a chance to close them out and don’t do it, you still come to the rink and you’re excited that you’ve still got another opportunity,” he said. “That’s all you can ask for.”